The Impact of Diversity upon Expeditionary Aerospace Leaders

Diversity and leadership are two topics which consume much time particularly in the Air Force's Development effort. It is well known that diversity is good for organizations. It is also agreed upon that organizations need to grow their leaders for senior positions. But little has been noted on the impact of diversity upon developing leaders. The US Air Force has programs that address diversity as well as leadership development, but there are no deliberate Air Force efforts to really raise up leaders who are well capable of leading our large and diverse force ... This paper relies upon past Department of Defense and private sector studies on diversity, mentoring, and leadership. It also, in part, addresses the Chief of Staff Research topic: Impacts of Diversity on Air Force Training and Learning Environments.